Every corner of Paris was in an uproar due to the sudden rooftop live broadcast.
On the internet, chaos had already erupted. Countless social media platforms, forums, and live streams were completely ignited by keywords like "Stormy Weather," "Jaden," and "weather girl scandal."
Some were Aurore's die-hard fans, who treated Stormy Weather's accusations during the live broadcast as gospel, furiously attacking the TV station and Mireille, claiming it was a dirty deal and demanding a re-election.
Others were viewers captivated by Mireille's gentleness and Jaden's charm, who insisted the election results were fair and angrily denounced Stormy Weather as a sore loser, a madwoman blinded by jealousy.
And even more were thrill-seekers drawn to this unprecedented live broadcast, full of dramatic conflict, where a "supervillain held hostages and specifically demanded the young hero to come for his coronation."
"Oh my god! This is more exciting than any movie I've ever seen!"
"Jaden really went! He really went alone! My Knight! So handsome! No matter whose Knight he is, from today on, he is my Knight!"
"Wake up, upstairs! Didn't you see he's already frozen by that crazy woman?! His life hangs in the balance!"
This comment, like a bucket of ice water, extinguished most of the online clamor.
People then realized that this was not a carefully staged drama, but a real, unfolding crisis.
Worry and fear, like a virus, quickly spread across the internet.
In the top-floor luxury residence of Mayor Bourgeois.
"Useless! A bunch of useless people!"
Chloé slammed her tablet onto the expensive handmade rug, producing a dull thud.
Her face, always adorned with exquisite makeup, was now filled with anxiety and rage.
"That damn Cat Noir! And that Ladybug who's always getting in the way! What in the world are they doing?!
It's been so long, and they can't even deal with a novice who just underwent Akumatization! It's making my… my Knight, face such danger alone!"
She cursed, stomping down the stairs in her high heels, heading straight for the door.
"Sabrina! Follow me! We'll go save him ourselves!"
However, as soon as she rushed to the entrance, she was blocked by two towering Bodyguards, like iron towers, and the butler, who always treated her with utmost deference and sported a small mustache.
"Jean-Pierre! What is the meaning of this?!" Chloé glared at the butler, hands on her hips, not even bothering to remember his difficult name.
"My deepest apologies, Miss Bourgeois." The butler bowed slightly, but his usually calm face now showed a rare, unquestionable solemnity, "You cannot leave here right now."
"What did you say?" Chloé could hardly believe her ears.
"This is Mayor Bourgeois's order," the butler added.
"My dad?!" Chloé exclaimed in surprise, and then her spoiled young lady's temper flared up again, "I don't care whose order it is! Now! Immediately! Get out of my way!"
"I apologize, Miss," the butler's back was ramrod straight, "On this matter today, I cannot comply.
Mayor Bourgeois gave a strict order that you are absolutely not to step out of this building until the crisis is resolved."
If it were in the past, a single shout from Chloé would have made this obedient butler move aside. But today, his small eyes twinkled with an unshakeable resolve.
Communication ineffective!
Chloé stomped her foot in anger, pulled out her phone, called her father, and turned the volume up to maximum.
"Dad—!" She had just yelled, but before she could complain.
Mayor Bourgeois's unprecedentedly stern and urgent voice came from the other end of the phone: "Chloé! You must stay home obediently right now!
You are not allowed to go anywhere! Do you hear me?!"
"What?!" Chloé was utterly dumbfounded. Her father, who always doted on her and would smile and say, "My darling daughter is the best," no matter how much trouble she caused, was… was speaking to her in such a tone?
"You… you don't believe I'll call Mom?!" She pulled out her trump card.
However, this time, Mayor Bourgeois did not soften as quickly as usual.
"It's no use calling anyone now! Chloé! This is not a joke!"
His voice held a tremor of lingering fear that even Chloé could detect, "Listen! I am now ordering Jean to absolutely not let you out! That's it!"
"Beep… beep… beep…"
The call was unceremoniously cut off.
Finally, under the "escort" of the butler and Bodyguards, Chloé and Sabrina were "invited" back to her palatial room.
She flopped into the soft velvet sofa, sulking, and furiously threw one cushion after another onto the floor.
Sabrina, beside her, stammered, trying to comfort her "queen" with her limited vocabulary, but it was clearly useless.
"…Shut up!" Chloé interrupted her irritably, "Open the holographic projection! Connect to the internet! I want to watch the live stream!"
Soon, a huge holographic projection replaced the expensive decorative wall in the room.
The cold, tense scene on the rooftop was clearly displayed before them.
When she saw Jaden frozen, Chloé's angry curses instantly caught in her throat. Her face turned "swish" to a deathly pale.
She stopped speaking, just stared fixedly at the frozen figure, biting her lower lip tightly.
And at this moment, in every corner of Paris, the hearts of all those who cared about Jaden were twisted into a knot.
In the park, Alya held the terrified Manon, who was on the verge of tears, tightly, her eyes glued to her phone screen.
"It's okay, it's okay, Manon,"
She comforted the little girl, and herself, "Ladybug and Cat Noir have arrived… They will definitely rescue Brother Jaden…"
At school, Teacher Caline stood by the window of the empty classroom, watching the news, full of worry.
She clasped her hands, silently praying that her brave and mysterious student would be safe and sound.
In Juleka's boathouse, she, Rose, and Mylène huddled together, watching the live stream.
Mylène was too scared to speak, while Rose kept muttering, "Come on! Ladybug!"
And Juleka, silently, clutched the paintbrush in her hand tightly.
At Nathan and Marc's home, both their faces were similarly grave. Nathan murmured, "I shouldn't have told Alya…"
And Marc, silently, watched his phone.
On the rooftop.
The fierce battle was drawing to a close.
Although Stormy Weather was powerful, she ultimately lacked true combat experience.
Ladybug used Stormy Weather's pathological obsession with Jaden, deliberately creating openings near Jaden to distract her.
Finally, in a brilliant coordinated effort, Cat Noir tripped her with his staff, and Ladybug seized the opportunity to firmly bind the unbalanced Stormy Weather into a human-shaped package with her resilient yo-yo!
With a "thud," Stormy Weather collapsed powerlessly to the ground, most of the cold air around her dissipated.
"How's it going, Ice… er, Ice Queen?" Cat Noir walked up to her, still in the mood to joke, "It seems your dynasty is about to end before it even began."
"I'm not the Ice Queen… I'm Stormy Weather!" Although Stormy Weather was bound, she still spoke defiantly, looking at the frozen figure not far away, her eyes still filled with fanaticism, "And soon… I'll be Queen Stormy Weather!"
"What's the difference?" Cat Noir continued to tease.
"Cat Noir! Stop playing around!"
Ladybug's voice interrupted him. Her tone was filled with urgency.
She quickly walked to Jaden's ice sculpture, looking at the face frozen in a gentle expression, her heart felt as if it was tightly squeezed by an invisible hand.
"Quick! Use your Cataclysm! Destroy this umbrella!"
"Alright, no problem, My Lady!" Cat Noir immediately dropped his joking expression, "Watch me! This time, I guarantee one strike will end the battle!"
He raised his right hand high, and the familiar, destructive black energy once again gathered in his palm.
"Cataclysm!"
He roared, walked directly in front of Jaden, and his hand, wreathed in ominous energy, unhesitatingly pressed down hard on the ice crystal parasol embedded in Jaden's chest!
However—
Just as his palm was about to touch the umbrella.
An arm, an arm covered in deep, obsidian-like crystalline ice, shot out from Jaden's ice sculpture with lightning speed, gripping his wrist with an unparalleled, absolute force!
"—What?!"
Cat Noir's eyes widened in disbelief! He felt as if his wrist was clamped by an iron vice made of ten-thousand-year-old profound ice, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move it an inch further!
The invincible "Cataclysm" energy, powerful enough to destroy anything, had not made contact with its target and could not unleash its destructive power.
"How… is this possible?!"
Just as he stared in shock, the thick, dark purple ice covering Jaden's body began to emit a grating "crack… crack…" sound of shattering!
Countless cracks, like a spiderweb, rapidly spread across his entire body! What emerged from those cracks was no longer flesh and blood, but a deep, cold darkness that seemed to swallow all light!
"Boom—!!!"
The next second, all the ice shattered!
A terrifying aura, a mixture of extreme cold and vast darkness, instantly swept across the entire rooftop like a tsunami!
The sky, at this moment, completely darkened. The dark clouds, which had originally only hovered around the TV station, quickly enveloped all of Paris at an unnatural speed!
One, two… pure white, crystalline snowflakes began to fall from the sky. At first, the snow fell gently, like a lover's whisper.
But very quickly, it turned into a heavy snowfall of goose feathers that obscured vision! The temperature of all Paris plummeted by more than ten degrees in a mere few tens of seconds!
And in the center of this sudden blizzard that covered the entire city, the former young man slowly opened his eyes.
His school uniform was gone. In its place was a magnificent armor, full of Gothic aesthetics, composed of countless shimmering black ice crystal plates.
The armor's lines were fluid yet powerful, sharp spikes like icicles extended from the shoulder pads, and a deep purple gem, like a frozen starry night, was embedded in the chest.
A black cloak, made of shattered, cold mist, billowed behind him without wind, rustling loudly.
His black hair had turned a radiant silver-white, like moonlight, with only a few strands retaining a cold, deep blue hue.
And his eyes… those black eyes that were once gentle, calm, and occasionally showed a hint of laziness, had now become a pair of bottomless, icy blue burning with flames.
Within them, there was no longer a trace of human warmth, only pure, absolute coldness and emptiness, like an eternal winter night.
He slowly raised the hand that was gripping Cat Noir's wrist, and with a gentle flick.
Cat Noir was flung away like a rag doll by an irresistible force, tumbling several times on the rooftop before stopping.
"Cat Noir! Are you alright?!" Ladybug immediately flashed to his side, warily watching the new figure slowly rising from the shattered ice.
"Cough cough… I'm fine, I can still fight!" Cat Noir shook his slightly dizzy head, leaped up from the ground, his eyes burning with intense fighting spirit.
However, the ensuing battle was a complete, one-sided annihilation.
Winter Knight—Jaden, didn't even move a single step. He just stood calmly in place, every raise of his hand, every swing of his arm, carried a regal elegance and coldness.
Countless sharp black ice spikes erupted from the ground, like venomous snakes chasing their prey, forcing the two heroes to leap and dodge, looking utterly disheveled.
The ice walls he conjured were impenetrable, easily deflecting Cat Noir's powerful blows; the cold he emitted could even freeze Ladybug's infallible yo-yo string!
The rhythm of the battle was completely controlled by him. He was like an elegant yet cruel chess player, and the two battle-hardened heroes were now pathetic pawns struggling on his chessboard.
Finally, under a devastating ice blast that covered half the rooftop, Ladybug and Cat Noir were both knocked back, crashing heavily to the ground, temporarily losing their ability to move.
"Seal."
A cold, emotionless word escaped his lips.
Black ice crystals instantly began to spread from Cat Noir's feet, and in less than a second, his entire body, except for his head, was completely frozen in place.
Winter Knight's gaze shifted from Cat Noir to Ladybug. This time, he didn't even bother to utter a word. Instead, a black ice stream, swifter than all previous attacks, coiled around Ladybug's spinning defensive yo-yo like a striking serpent!
The ice crystals rapidly spread, freezing the yo-yo along with her wrist! Immediately after, black ice covered her entire body!
The two guardians of Paris were completely defeated in a short time by the very person they intended to protect, with an overwhelming, unmatched power!
Winter Knight slowly retracted his hand, his icy blue eyes showing not the slightest joy of victory, but only an eternal, hollow indifference.
"Well done, Winter Knight!" Hawk Moth's ecstatic voice rang in his mind, "Now! Quick! Take their miraculous! Victory is at hand!"
However, Winter Knight paid no attention to his urging. He simply slowly raised his head, looking at the snow-laden sky, which he had dyed grayish-white.
He stretched out his hand, and countless ice crystals, shimmering with black-purple light, began to gather, swirl, and reconstruct above his palm.
They rapidly built and extended in a way that defied the laws of physics, eventually coalescing into a magnificent and opulent ice crystal fortress, like a dream, amidst the clouds above Paris!
That fortress had Gothic-style towering spires and Baroque-style intricate carvings; every brick and stone seemed to be forged from the purest night and ice, emitting an awe-inspiring, evil yet magnificent glow.
He turned around and walked towards Stormy Weather, who had crawled up from the ground and was gazing at him with an infatuated expression.
The yo-yo string had long since been shattered into icy fragments by the frost.
"My Knight…" Stormy Weather reached out, her eyes filled with anticipation and adoration.
The Winter Knight did not speak, but merely lifted her into his arms.
Then, under Stormy Weather's gaze, which was so happy she almost fainted, the ice crystals beneath his feet transformed into a magnificent staircase, carrying them slowly upwards towards their eternal ice palace in the sky, a palace that belonged only to the two of them.
"Stop! You stop right there!
Where are you going?! Your mission is the miraculous!"
Hawk Moth roared frantically through the mental link! "If you don't obey my orders! I will take back your power! Do you believe me?!"
However, this time, no matter how he urged or threatened, that link remained like stagnant water, without any response.
He fearfully cast his perception towards the ice crystal umbrella that Stormy Weather had left on the rooftop—inside it, his Akuma Butterfly remained unresponsive, as if completely sealed by a stronger, colder will!
He had lost control of everything.
This scene, broadcast live, was clearly presented before all Parisians.
It also pierced like the sharpest knife into the hearts of every girl who cared about Jaden.
"How… how could this be?!" Alya hugged Manon, looking at her phone screen in disbelief.
In Chloé's room, she watched the figure embracing another girl and slowly ascending into the sky, so enraged that she slammed the remote control in her hand fiercely at the holographic projection!
"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! His Queen can only be me! It's me, Chloé!
What is that woman?! What right does she have?!"
She stared intently at the holographic projection, biting her lips until they bled, yet feeling no pain.
That embrace… that embrace meant only for the Queen… now belonged to someone else!
A thin layer of frost had formed on the window of Juleka's boathouse.
She watched the two embracing on the screen, feeling as if her heart had also frozen, both cold and aching.
The paintbrush in her hand fell to the ground with a "clatter."
Her eyes were filled with endless sorrow and despair, while Rose and Mylène hugged each other, sobbing softly.
Agreste Mansion.
Gabriel's face was ashen.
The loss of control over the plan filled him with unprecedented anger and frustration.
But soon, he forced himself to calm down.
Although he had lost control, he still had a chance.
He immediately dialed Nathalie's number.
"Nathalie!" His voice was calm and filled with an undeniable command, "Those two heroes have been subdued! Cat Noir's ring should be flashing; he'll transform back soon!
Now! Immediately! Go and retrieve the Ladybug's earring for me!"
"Sir," Nathalie's voice, slightly trembling from the cold but still composed, came from the other end of the line, "Bao… no, the Knight, he's still…"
"He's already gone up! This is the best opportunity! Go quickly!"
"…Yes."
Nathalie hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and was about to act.
She didn't notice that behind her, Mireille, who she had always protected and seemed fragile, had disappeared at some point… on the rooftop.
Mireille looked at the magnificent yet cold fortress in the sky, then at the two ice-bound heroes on the ground.
In her mind, she recalled Jaden's words to her during the awards ceremony.
"What people long for is not an eternal scorching sun, but this warmth, like yours, that can soothe all anxieties."
Gentle… warm… Yes, that gentle him, that was the real him!
She stumbled to the edge of the rooftop and picked up the ice crystal umbrella, the one Stormy Weather had first used, which had been left on the ground.
After the Winter Knight was born, the umbrella seemed to lose all its magic, becoming like ordinary ice, merely emitting cold.
"Mr. Jaden!"
She used all her strength to shout towards the sky!
"I don't know what you've become now! But… the Mr. Jaden I know is gentle! He's someone who encourages others when they're down! He's someone who calls a shy girl 'princess'!"
Her tears flowed uncontrollably, almost freezing in the cold air.
"Please… come back! The gentle you… please come back quickly!"
After speaking, she used her last ounce of strength to forcefully throw the heavy ice crystal umbrella down from the rooftop!
The ice umbrella arced through the air, plummeting rapidly.
"Crack—!!!"
A crisp sound, like shattering crystal, echoed in the silent city.
A black, ominous butterfly flew out of the broken ice umbrella in a panic.
Meanwhile, in the sky, the Winter Knight, who was holding Stormy Weather and about to step into the ice crystal fortress, suddenly trembled!
His magnificent black ice armor, like snow in sunlight, rapidly melted and receded! His bright silver hair also reverted to its familiar, warm black!
The unparalleled ice palace suspended in the sky, like a sandcastle losing its support, began to collapse and disintegrate inch by inch, turning into a sky full of snowflakes, drifting down.
The dark clouds above Paris began to disperse.
Warm sunlight once again bathed the earth.
The Akumatization power had vanished!
And the ice crystal staircase beneath his feet also collapsed instantly!
"—Ah!"
Jaden's consciousness slowly returned to his body.
He found himself plummeting rapidly from mid-air with Aurore!
And on the rooftop, the ice encasing Ladybug and Cat Noir shattered simultaneously.
"My ring! I'm out of time!" Cat Noir, seeing his ring with only one paw print left, immediately cried out, then rushed to the rooftop door, found a utility room before fully transforming back, and covered himself with a tarp.
Ladybug, on the other hand, immediately threw out her yo-yo!
The red string precisely wrapped around Jaden and Aurore, who were falling, and brought them steadily back to the rooftop.
Perhaps it was because the previous battle had consumed too much physical strength, or because of extreme mental tension, but the moment she retracted her yo-yo, her foot accidentally slipped, and she stumbled, falling towards Jaden, who had just landed!
"Ugh—!"
Everything happened too fast!
By the time the two reacted, they had already fallen together.
And their lips, due to this accident, gently and softly touched.
It was a brief, warm sensation, like a feather brushing past.
Marinette's mind instantly went "buzz" and became a blank.
All she could feel was her heart pounding like a drum, and the lingering trace of his scent on her lips, making her feel as if she was melting.
She even forgot to get up.
Jaden, too, was slightly stunned by this sudden, accidental intimate contact.
In an unnoticed corner, a pure white butterfly, which had turned from black to white, quietly flew away into the distance.
"…Miraculous Restoration!"
A few seconds later, Ladybug, as if waking from a dream, suddenly jumped up, her face as red as a cooked shrimp.
She dared not look into Jaden's eyes, her face so red it seemed about to drip blood, and she incoherently threw the "lucky charm"—a hand warmer she had forgotten in a corner—which she had conjured during the battle, into the sky.
Pink, healing energy spread like ripples rapidly across all of Paris.
The ice crystal fortress in the sky dissipated.
Frozen people and objects returned to their original state.
The Stormy Weather that had enveloped the city also stopped.
Warm sunlight once again bathed the earth.
Everything was over.
Ladybug and Cat Noir, after confirming that everyone was safe, quickly left the scene and disappeared among the city's rooftops.
The aftermath was the expected chaos and reassurance.
The television station's doors were quickly "stormed" by girls who had rushed to the scene upon hearing the news.
Mayor Bourgeois, after confirming the crisis was resolved, immediately lifted Chloé's "house arrest" and promised her a generous "compensation."
When Jaden, exhausted, walked out of the building, he was greeted by countless faces filled with worry, concern, and lingering fear.
"Jaden! Are you alright?!" Alya was the first to rush over, examining him up and down.
"My Knight… you… you scared me to death…" Chloé also disregarded her Queenly composure, her eyes red-rimmed.
Juleka, Rose, Mylène… every girl, in her own way, expressed her relief and concern after surviving the ordeal.
And Aurore, after regaining consciousness, walked up to Jaden and Mireille with a look of shame on her face and bowed deeply.
"I'm sorry… I…"
"It's alright." Jaden's face showed a hint of fatigue, but his smile was still so gentle, "Everyone has moments when emotions get the better of them.
What's important is that you can recognize your mistakes and find your true self.
From now on, you and Mireille will both be Paris's best and most outstanding weather girls."
His words, full of tolerance and gentleness, were like a stone dropped into a calm lake, once again stirring up intense ripples in the hearts of all the girls present.
His gentle words made Aurore feel even more ashamed, but they also brought a glimmer of redemption to her tormented heart.
Nathalie stood outside the crowd, and on her always icy face, a subtle and complex gleam appeared.
She calmly observed the young man surrounded like a star, silently recording everything that happened today in her heart.
Agreste Mansion, in the gloomy lair.
Gabriel looked at the young man surrounded like a star in the center of the screen; on his face, there was no anger of failure, but rather a strange, excited smile.
"So that's it… so that's it! Directly Akumatization him was a detour… He, the young man himself, is the most perfect vessel for darkness!
As long as I find that key, and open the door in his heart…"
"Next time… next time, I will not fail again! Winter Knight, we… will meet again soon."
This thrilling live broadcast also sparked new, even more fervent discussions and comments online, and thanks to its dramatic ending, completely reversed.
"Oh my goodness! So touching! I declare, Miss Mireille is the true hero! It was her gentle courage that saved all of Paris!"
"Jaden's last words were too gentle! Ahhh! Jealousy disfigures me! I want to be Akumatization too! I want to be comforted so gently by him, boo hoo hoo…"
"Oh my god! That kiss! Did you see it?! Ladybug and Jaden! They kissed!"
"Ahhh! My new ship has been born! The Knight and the Heroine! This is simply a match made in heaven!"
"Get out of here, upstairs! Jaden belongs to our Queen! What is that ladybug?!"
And at the center of the storm, after the girls returned home, their hearts could no longer find peace.
Chloé lay on her large bed, her mind repeatedly replaying the image of the ice palace in the sky, built only for another person.
An unprecedented, intense jealousy and possessiveness grew wildly in her heart.
Akumatization… if being Akumatization could grant such power, and make him build a palace only for me… then perhaps… it wouldn't be such a bad thing… Alya looked at the screenshot of the "Kiss of the Century" that netizens were frantically sharing on her blog, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
On one hand, she felt regret for her best friend.
But on the other hand, a sour emotion she hadn't even realized was there was quietly budding.
If… if I were the one who was Akumatization, wouldn't I… be able to justifiably do some… things I wouldn't normally dare to do to him?
Juleka, Rose, Mylène… in the heart of every girl, more or less, due to this intense shock, some dangerous yet sweet dark thoughts that would never normally arise began to stir.
They were all waiting.
Waiting for the day when that Akuma butterfly would also descend upon them.
Because that way, they might just have a reason to unreservedly "monopolize" that gentle young man.
Marinette's attic room.
She buried herself in the quilt, making "woo woo woo" sounds, like a small animal, unsure if it was from happiness or shame.
"Congratulations, Marinette!" Tikki chirped from the side, eating celebratory cookies, "You've achieved what all fans dream of today!"
"Tikki! Stop it!" Marinette poked half of her flushed head out from under the quilt, her voice filled with embarrassment, "That… that was just an accident!"
Although she said so, she couldn't help but reach out and gently caress her lips.
On them, it seemed, still lingered the soft, heart-racing sensation of that fleeting moment.
She giggled and buried herself back under the quilt.